The Location of Happiness
by F91
Summary: Seeing his friends surrounded by their families and lovers, Yuuno can't help but realise how empty his life is. Will he be able to find happiness or is he doomed to be lonely forever?
1. Prolouge

Yuuno returned to his apartment after a tiring day at the office. Chrono had once again put in a large order, and it took several hours to collect everything. As such, it was only now that he was home and seated on his couch that he had time to call up a display and check his messages.

He wasn't surprised to find he had several waiting in his inbox, as it was the holiday season so he was expecting to get greetings from his various friends and acquaintances. His expectations were fulfilled, as that was indeed what the bulk of his messages were.

Opening the first, he was greeted to the image of the Takamachi family. Nanoha, Fate, and Vivio stood posed before their Christmas tree with a 'Happy Holidays' arcing over them. Nanoha stood with her arm linked with her wife's, while Vivio was latched onto a surprising fourth individual. Yuuno recognised the other child as Einhart Stratos, a girl Vivio had become quite fond of to the point where the adults would fawn over the cute little couple.

The second was from the Harlaown family, with Lindy, Chrono, Amy, the twins, and even Arf sitting before a festively decorated backdrop, smiling brightly at the camera. Chrono and Amy looked happy together as they always did, and Yuuno noted that the twins had certainly grown a lot since he saw them last.

Next was the one from Alisa and Suzuka, his Earthbound friends. Yuuno had to chuckle slightly at the obvious look of discomfort on Alisa's face. The blond was beet red, surely the result of the other girl tightly holding onto her arm. The surroundings were lavishly decorated, but Yuuno expected no less from the combined fortune of the Bannings and Tsukimura families.

The Yagami family's card was as eccentric as ever. Hayate had dressed her knights up as Santas, elves, reindeer, and even frosty. Shamal was leaning her head on Signum's shoulder, while the other knight was clearly trying to ignore it. Rein copied the gesture with Agito, who was notably agitated. Vita and Zafira, in wolf form, were at the bottom, flanking their mistress who stood with the newest addition. It was Hayate and Carim's first Christmas together, and the both of them were simply glowing. His friend Verossa was also present, his arm draped around Schach's shoulder.

Yuuno was a tad surprised to see a card from Teana, as he had only helped the enforcer out on one or two cases. It was a nice gesture, and Yuuno saw that the card featured the Nakajima family as well. Subaru sat next to her girlfriend, with the rest of her family surrounding her. The other cyborgs looked to be high on the festive cheer, particularly Wendi who was unashamedly glomping Nove from behind.

After viewing the cards from various business associates, Yuuno went back and looked through the images again, taking in each joyous face as he did so. All his friends had gone on to lead fulfilling lives, each with a special loved one by their side. They were all happy, so Yuuno was happy as well.

And yet, even though he told himself that, he was still crying. Yuuno remained seated on his couch as his sobs echoed through the hollow apartment.


	2. Bad End 1

"The poor boy worked himself to death." Is what many had said. But for those who knew him, they knew that wasn't the reason Yuuno had died.

When news had come that Yuuno had been found dead, face buried into his desk, the reality became all too clear. The doctors said his heart had simply given out, but they couldn't figure out why. The final diagnosis was given as extreme fatigue.

But his friends were certain of the truth. The man had no family to call his own, his entire tribe had worked to meet his needs, but Yuuno had no particular individual among them to lean on. He had never told his friends of his feelings; he had always held them all in, not wanting to trouble the others. They had let that be, certain that if he ever had a dire problem, they were sure to notice it.

However, as the years went on, Yuuno had found himself distanced from the others. They had their lives to live, and had lost themselves in the happiness they had found with their lovers and families. Now that they looked back, they couldn't remember when they last spoke to him in person. They also realised that their friend had never once introduced a significant other to them; as far as they knew, he had always been single.

With no family, friends, or loved ones to be there for him, he could only watch the happiness of all those around him.

Yes, those who knew Yuuno were sure of it: he had died of loneliness.

* * *

This is just the Bad End (or Good End if you hate Yuuno), and not the real ending. I will be continuing this story in a different direction.


	3. Chapter 1

It comes as no surprise how heartless some people are. Well, I'd say the predictableness is worse than the heartlessness, though.

Blind to Logic: I assure you there will be no threesomes, no pedo, and no breaking up of established relationships. There will indeed be an OC.

* * *

Yuuno sighed as he sat at his desk, certain that it was going to be another long day at the office. Today would be even worse, he knew, because Chrono wouldn't be making another order for at least a few more days. As such, all Yuuno could do was sit at his desk and wait for some one to come to him for assistance.

He had many such visitors at first, all of them relying on his abilities to find the knowledge they seeked, but as time went on there was a sharp decline in number and Yuuno knew he had only himself to blame for that. The system he had worked so hard to perfect had made finding books in the Infinity Library as simple as using an internet search engine. No one was in need of his services anymore since they could easily locate the tome they wanted themselves.

The number of archaeological dig sites he was invited to had also surprisingly dropped. A consultation was rare as well, and Yuuno could only think of a few explanations. The first was the people in the field were skilled enough not to require his services, the second was that there were no more artefacts to be found, and the third was that they didn't consider him to be of any use anymore.

That third possibility was the most troubling. After all these years, was he really obsolete? Certainly the library could function well enough without him, but was he not needed anywhere by anyone anymore?

"What's the point of me being here?" He wondered aloud. "Would anyone care if I just disappeared?"

When there was a knock on his door, Yuuno shook those thoughts from his head. Quickly wiping his hands over his face, he forced a smile and told his visitor to enter.

"Good morning, Yuuno." Fate greeted as she walked in.

"Good morning, Fate." He said back. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I was wondering…" Fate paused to consider her friend a moment. "Yuuno, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He lied. "I'm just fine."

"If something's bothering you, you know you can talk to me about it."

"Like I said, there's nothing wrong. I'm fine. So, what's your business?"

"That can wait." Fate insisted. "Please, tell me what's wrong."

"I said I'm fine didn't I?!" Yuuno said with a surprising amount of sharpness.

"… Now I know something's wrong." Fate smiled softly. "Talk to me."

"I said…"

"I've had to become perceptive enough to know when something is bothering Nanoha," Fate explained. "You're much easier to read by comparison."

"…" Yuuno signalled his defeated by swivelling in his chair so its back faced her. "Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Try me."

Yuuno sighed and wished his friend wasn't so stubborn at times. "I was just thinking about how the system I created has made my job completely unnecessary. People can find whatever they like easily enough without me."

"That's not true, Yuuno." Fate countered. "You still have an important role to fill."

"Like what?" He shot back. "These days all I do is sit here in my office and read whatever happens to be on my desk. If it weren't for Chrono's large requests, I wouldn't have any actual work to do. It's just a matter of time before the Bureau decides to stop wasting a paycheque on me."

"You're still a big player in the archaeological community…"

"I used to be, anyways. I haven't been contacted about a dig or any other sort of assignment in ages! Face it, Fate, no one needs me."

"You still have your tribe." She tried.

"Even though my tribe raised me, I'm still effectively an outsider." Yuuno said. "The responsibility was diffused through everyone, so no one is particularly attached to me, and I'm not particularly attached to any of them, either. I haven't had much contact with them ever since I took up my position here so I doubt any of them even remember me."

"You still have us!"

"Yeah right." He laughed derisively. "I got your holiday cards. You all looked so happy, with your families and loved ones and it was painfully clear to me that I have no place among you. You get to go home and be with Nanoha and Vivio and every night I return to that empty apartment of mine where no one is waiting for me and no one would even care if I never returned at all!"

Fate could tell from the way his voice broke that he was crying. She tried to round the desk to comfort him, but he kept turning away.

"So what would you understand?" He sobbed. "You have everything I ever wanted, so there's no way you know how I'm feeling right now! I guess it's just too much to ask for a little happiness and some one to share that happiness with. I'm twenty-four and I've never even been on a date once! All the girls I was ever close to are lesbians, and I'm so effeminate that other women have no interest in me at all! Look at how I'm crying like a sissy right now! Some man I am…"

"Yuuno, stop it already!" Fate finally just spun the chair around and grabbed his shoulders. She thought of telling him that he was a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have him, but she realised it would probably sound like a hollow comment coming from her.

"Just face it, Fate, I'm pathetic!" He kept crying. "It's no wonder I lost Nanoha to you…"

"That's…" Fate stopped, not sure how she could reply to that. "That's just how it turned out. It wasn't because there was something wrong with you…"

"Then how come no women show any interest in me?" He whispered. "Even after I gave up on Nanoha, why haven't I been able to find some one?"

"The time just hasn't been right, I guess." Fate answered lamely.

"… The time hasn't been right in twenty-four years… I doubt it'll ever be…"

Fate felt so helpless seeing the man broken like this. She wanted to say something that could make everything all better, but she just couldn't think of anything.

"If… If you had told us this sooner, we could have helped you…"

"There's no way I could have done that." He said. "I won't ruin your happiness by dragging in my problems. Just… forget it, Fate." He sighed, regaining some composure. "I shouldn't have blown up like this at you. I'm sorry."

"But Yuuno, it's not good to bottle up your feelings like that. You're my friend and I want to help you."

"Don't bother yourself with my problems." He smiled meekly. "It's just something stupid that doesn't matter anyways."

"It clearly matters to you."

"Just tell me what you came here for. I won't waste any more of your time."

"Yuuno…" Fate stopped as she realised what she could do to help him just a little. "Come work with me, Yuuno!"

"Excuse me?"

"Just sitting here is giving you too much time to brood over this, so come work with me on this case I'm doing now!"

"But it's not like I could really help…"

"Sure you could." Fate smiled. "I'm investigating a certain group that seems to have gotten its hands on an unknown Lost Logia, so your expertise would be invaluable. I was just going to consult you here, but why don't you come out into the field with me? A change of pace would be good for you."

"But…"

"I insist." Fate gently took his arm and pulled him out of his chair. Yuuno sighed and gave in, knowing his friend had the best intentions in mind. After what he just did, he didn't want to spit on her kindness any further.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt…"


	4. Chapter 2

Blind to Logic: Well, while I didn't think _that_ deeply into choosing Fate, that was part of the reason. The main part, though, is that if it was Fate, then she could take Yuuno on a mission with her and thus there could be a plot ^^" But yeah, Fate's character also made her the best choice, as Nanoha probably wouldn't even notice something was bothering him. I think interactions between Fate and Yuuno are vastly underused, which is why I include scenes involving them in a lot of my works. And again, don't worry. I promise I won't break up any relationship, so there'll be nothing going on between Fate and Yuuno other than feelings of friendship (though I do think those two make the best couple, but that has no bearing on this fic).

hignum: Well, the prolouge was written as a commentary on the fandom and how it's heavily yuri orientated with only a few heterosexual relationships that are rarely used. I paired everyone off with who I usually see them with, which is why Signum is with Shamal (Vice would likely be with Alto). Naturally at the end of it Yuuno isn't paired with anyone, such as it usually is because people hate him. Then I decided to ride out the depressive kick I was on which resulted in ending #1 where he dies (much to the rejoicing of many). But I got an idea for how I could make things turn out better, which is why this fic continues. Of course the big question was "I paired off everyone else, so who would be left for him?"

Anyways, this chapter is a lot longer than the others.

* * *

Fate disliked the silence that permeated her car. Yuuno was more intent on staring out the window at the sky than make casual conversation. Well, considering he had just bared his soul to her not too long ago, she couldn't exactly blame the guy. Still, she felt she should say something.

"Nice weather today, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." He answered plainly, causing Fate to sigh at her failed attempt. She searched for other topics, but knew she'd just be rubbing salt in his wounds if she talked about how happy Vivio was opening her presents, or how she and Nanoha were planning a vacation in the near future.

"I'm sorry again for earlier." Yuuno spoke instead. "I guess being alone for the holidays was too much for me and everything just sort of came flooding out. I didn't mean to burden you with my problems."

"But it's ok that you did, you know that, right?" She replied. "I do love you, Yuuno. It may not be in the way that you want, but you are still my friend. I'm always here for you, and so is Nanoha and everyone else."

"I know." Yuuno turned back and smiled slightly. "And I do feel a bit better getting it off my chest, so thanks for listening. It still doesn't address the root of the problem, though."

"I wish I could say something to make it all better, but…" Fate sighed. "Would you believe me if I said you are a wonderful guy and any girl would be lucky to have you?"

"… I'd like to, but my mind immediately thinks that if it were true, I wouldn't be single."

"I thought so." Fate sighed again.

"Please don't worry too much about it, Fate. I am glad you're here for me, but… it just isn't enough anymore…"

"Well, you never know what will happen or what kind of people you will meet." Fate tried to sound hopeful. "Maybe you'll even meet some one on this assignment!"

"If only life were that convenient," He sighed. "Well, tell me more about this assignment first."

"I'll explain the specifics once we meet up with Shari." Fate said as she pulled her car into the parking lot. "We're catching a transport to our base of operations from here."

"Ok then." Yuuno said as he got out of the car and they made their way into the depot.

"Ah, Fate-san, there you are!" Shari ran up to her boss when she saw her. "Oh? Hello there, professor. I wasn't expecting you to come along too."

"It's nice to see you again, Shari." Yuuno shook her hand. "It's been awhile."

"I thought it might be better for him to come with us." Fate explained. "I'm sure he'll be a great help in determining what we're up against."

"Sounds good to me." Shari smiled. "Pleasure to be working with you."

"You too." He said back.

The trio boarded their transport which then headed off to their destination. As he looked out the window, Yuuno noted that the view kept deteriorating as they went along. Eventually it was nothing more than a rocky wasteland.

"So where are we going?" He asked.

"We're heading to a base out in the fringes." Shari explained. "Apparently some sort of militant group is hanging out in the area." She called up a magical display and showed a picture of a large, bearded man standing before a group of people. "This is their leader, a man by the name of Hummer. This is a still from a video he sent out, declaring his intent on deposing the TSAB. You know, the usual."

"They're a small group that the Bureau would normally ignore," Fate picked up. "However, this is the issue." The image zoomed into Hummer's hand, which held an odd looking gun into the air. "He claims the weapon he holds is an ancient gun with highly destructive powers."

"Hmm…" Yuuno studied the image. "I definitely feel like I've seen this before. Once we get to the base I'll access the Library's databanks and see what I can find."

"If it really is as great a threat as he claims it is, then we'll need to find a countermeasure." Fate noted. "If it's just a bluff, we can go in and put a stop to his operation easily enough."

"Even if it is some sort of super weapon, I'm sure it'll be no match for Fate-san!" Shari grinned. "She'll have everything wrapped up so fast, you might as well have stayed home, professor."

"You're over exaggerating, Shari." Fate chuckled awkwardly. "If things finish quickly, it will be because of Yuuno's great wealth of knowledge."

"Now who's exaggerating?" Yuuno smiled derisively. "It's not much to brag about."

"Actually, your essay on the design concepts of ancient machines was very insightful." Shari nodded sagely. "Mariel was also quite impressed with it. We even ended up discussing it into the wee hours of the morning."

"That was one of the ones you got an award for, isn't it?" Fate put in. "See, a lot of people recognise your talents."

"… I guess that's true." He smiled a little more genuinely. It's not like he could deny that, seeing as how the award and a few others still hung on the wall of his office. "I haven't written anything in a while, so perhaps I'll start something when we return."

"I'm sure it'll be another hit." Fate said, pleased that some light had returned to his eyes.

Shortly after, they reached their destination and were greeted by the commander of the outpost. Not wanting to waste any time, they were lead to a room that contained various terminals and scanners.

"Shari, Yuuno, you two will set up shop in here." Fate directed. "You should be able to do all the inquiries and analysis you need. See what you can find on that gun while I go discuss our course of action with the commander."

"Ok."

"You got it!"

When Fate left the room, Shari made her way over to the equipment and gave it a once over.

"Hm, not bad for a place way out here." She noted. "We can manage with these."

"Well, all I need is a terminal that can access the network." Yuuno said, taking a seat at one of the screens and flicking it on. The screen lit up and he began typing away.

"So, I guess I'm a little confused." Shari admitted as she stood behind him. "You're going to ask one of the other librarians to find the info for you, right? Wouldn't it have been easier if you stayed at the library to do it yourself? I mean, there won't be much else to do until the case is closed and we actually get our hands on the gun to analyze it."

"Ah, well," Yuuno paused and smiled up at her sheepishly. "There are… various reasons. Fate thought it best that I get out and do something so she invited me along."

"Ah, I see." Shari nodded. "What kind of reasons?"

"To address your earlier comment," Yuuno changed the subject. "I won't be asking anyone to look up anything. One of the projects I started when I took over the library was the digitization of all the information so it can be accessed without needing the book itself in hand."

"Woah." Shari gasped. "All that data… I can't even imagine how long that would take and how many terabytes that could be!"

"I've been at it for fifteen years, so yeah." He chuckled slightly. "It certainly wouldn't be possible without the Bureau providing us with the disk space. I can't say we've gotten all of it just yet, but there's a good chance the info we need will be in here."

"Hm…" Shari hummed thoughtfully as she turned back to the screen. Yuuno had pulled up the image of the gun from the video and was examining it closely.

"That writing isn't ancient Belkan…" He mused. "Characters are too elongated to be Balmarian… I know I've seen it… Ah! That's it!" His fingers danced over the keyboard, minimizing the image and pulling up a wall of text which scrolled down the screen.

Shari had to glance away before the moving text gave her a headache, but when she looked at her companion, she saw his eyes dart back and forth rapidly, taking in all the information presented to him.

"Here it is." He said after a moment. The text stopped moving and a new image popped up, displaying a stone wall covered with intricate carvings. "Just as I thought, it was Orphenoc!"

"Orphenoc?"

"They were a tribe of people that once ruled over non-administrated world 555." Yuuno explained. "They were said to have descended from the heavens and enslaved the natives using something called The Light of God."

"That sounds ominous." Shari noted.

"Hold on a moment…" Yuuno muttered as he scrolled through some images. "Here, this is it." He angled away from the screen to allow Shari a better view of it. Displayed on it was another stone carving, this one depicting a group of humanoid forms standing on an elevated platform. Below them were many prostrated individuals, their crouched positions allowing them to avoid a thick, horizontal column that passed over head. The column seemed to originate from an object being held by one of the raised people.

"… And there's our boom stick." Shari said, recognising the object as the gun from the video.

"No doubt about that…" Yuuno frowned. "If they have their hands on the Light of God, they can do some serious damage." Yuuno pulled up yet another image of a pair of mountains. "These are the twin peaks located on non-administrated world 555 where the Orphenoc ruins were found. They may look like ordinary mountains, but if you do a simulation factoring erosion into account…" The mountains in the images began moving as the date counter in the corner of the screen went backwards. The peaks curved towards each other, eventually forming a perfect circle between the two. "You can see that they used to be a single mountain until something blasted a hole into it."

"For such a tiny little thing it sure packs a punch, huh?" Shari hummed a bit. "Or maybe it was just wielded by a powerful mage? Or what if it features some sort of power amplification device? Mmm, I can't wait to get my hands on this baby so I can take her apart and find out all its dirty little secrets!" An ominous laugh followed.

"It's good to see you're so passionate." Yuuno smiled at her, causing the girl to pause.

"Hm, not used to hearing something like that." Shari chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"Heh, well when I get like that people usually either laugh nervously or back away slowly. Heck, Griffith still runs away as fast as he can." She smiled as she shook her head. "And I even promised him I wouldn't use him as a guinea pig anymore."

"Griffith?" Yuuno blinked. "Admiral Leti's son, right? He's your…"

"Mmm," Shari indicated an affirmative. "We've known each other since we were kids. I loved toying with machines even back then, so whenever I came up with something new, I'd get Griffith to try it out for me. After about the fifth time his hair caught on fire, he made me promise to stop, though. He's always been such a wet blanket."

"I see." Yuuno said, slightly jealous that she had some one special like that. "Well, I think it's a good thing you're so enthusiastic about what you like to do. I admire that a lot."

"Well thank you very much, professor." She grinned. "Now let's tell Fate-san about what we found out!"

X-X-X

When Yuuno headed to the roof of the base to get some air, he found that Fate was already up there with the same purpose.

"Hi Fate." He greeted his friend. "Did you get the data?"

"Yes, Shari sent it over to me." Fate smiled. "We're just taking a little break before we discuss our next course of action."

"I see." Yuuno joined her in looking up at the clear sky that hung over the barren wasteland.

"So… How are you feeling?" Fate asked hesitantly.

"A lot better, actually." Yuuno smiled. "Shari is so energetic it's almost impossible to feel down around her."

"Yeah, she does have that effect." Fate laughed. "She reminds me so much of Hayate in that sense. When those two get together, they cause all kinds of trouble."

"I've heard the horror stories of the Riot Force 6 days." Yuuno chuckled. "Wish I was there to see it."

"Ah, well, we all wanted you to be there too, but you were so busy, and…"

"It's fine, Fate." He dismissed with a shake of his head. "I'm okay with it, really. I don't want you being worried about me so much. I know how you tend to make slip ups when you're worried."

"I do not!" Fate pouted slightly. "I only failed my officer's exam twice…"

"Even after I helped you study for it, too." He smirked at her teasingly.

"You're worse than Signum." Fate huffed before smiling sadly and turning away.

"Fate, if there's something else worrying you, please talk to me about it. Just like you were there for me, I'm here for you."

"Well…" Fate looked back to him hesitantly. "I hate to bring this up when you're finally in a better mood, but something you said earlier stuck with me, so I was wondering…" Fate glanced away and then looked back again, swallowing hard. "Yuuno, do you… Do you resent me?"

"What?" Yuuno reeled back in shock. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, before you mentioned that I had everything you wanted, so… I thought maybe you hated me because I took Nanoha away from you. If I wasn't around you'd be happy with her right now…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Fate." Yuuno gave her a stern look. "I may be jealous of you, but I do not hate you. How could I? You're such a great friend, a caring mother, and an over all wonderful person. No one could make Nanoha as happy as you can and that's why you two are together."

"Really? But…"

"That you're together with Nanoha and not me is not something I hold a grudge against." Yuuno sighed. "The thing that gets to me is that it wasn't that Nanoha chose you over me, it's that she never saw me as a potential partner in the first place. She never saw me as a man, just a ferret…"

"That's…" Fate was unable to deny that honestly. "… I'm sorry for bringing it up…"

"No, that's just… something I need to come to terms with on my own." Yuuno managed a smile. "But don't worry, Fate. I don't hate you, and I never will. Thank you for being my friend."

"I should be the one thanking you." She smiled back and because she thought he needed it, drew him into a hug. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad I could help you." Yuuno said, returning the hug. Most of his negative feelings were blown away by the embrace, but a few still lingered. So when they moved away from each other, Yuuno decided on his next course of action.

"I'm going to go talk to the commander and see if there's an area I could go patrol." He said.

"Why?" Fate blinked. "You don't need to do something like that."

"I just want to go on a bit of a walk." He explained. "A change of pace is good for you, right?"

"Well… I'll go with you, then!

"You're going to resume your meeting soon, right? I can go by myself."

"But… Ok…" Fate relented. "Please be careful."

"Don't worry." He said. "I'll be fine."


	5. Chapter 3

hignum: In this fic Hayate is with Carim

Passerby-A: I love Shari but don't get to write about her much, and since she's one of the three canon characters that'll appear in this fic, expect her to get some more attention :D

Anywho, this chapter's pretty short.

* * *

The commander was reluctant to have a civilian go on patrol, but he eventually consented when informed of Yuuno's abilities as a mage and Fate gave her reassurance. And so Yuuno was now walking through the wasteland along a predetermined path.

Everything was dead save for him. The only sounds were his feet against the rock and the occasional blast of wind rushing past his ears. There were no bird songs or anything of the sort, just utter silence.

Around him was nothing but dirt and sharp rocks, the landscape permanently scorched by some long forgotten battle. The only appealing view was the cloud spotted sky above him, but he had to keep his eyes downwards to watch his footing.

Despite it being the winter months, the sun bared down in full force, causing distant sights to appear wavy and allowing Yuuno to roam in just light clothing.

The relative lack of any sort of external stimulus let his thoughts take center stage and he decided to voice them in an attempt to inject something into the barren environment.

"Well, what now…" He wondered, chuckling derisively. "Here I am out in the middle of nowhere, talking to myself."

He thought back to the events of the day, particularly his conversations with Fate.

"I should apologise to her again later." He decided. "I shouldn't have made her deal with this… Well, I do feel better, but it's what I do now that's important. Maybe it's time I took the initiative in regards to this. If my empty apartment bugs me so much, maybe I should get a pet? Or better yet, maybe I should create a familiar to be my companion. I do have lots of mana reserves I hardly use so I could pull it off. I could ask Fate to help me too."

He shook his head. "That's an idea, but it's not exactly the kind of companionship I'm looking for… I guess a good place to start would be on a guy's night out." He mused, referring to how Chrono and his other male friends would often drag him out to bars and clubs and such. Yuuno spent most of those evening either keeping to himself or remaining with his group of friends. "It is an opportune time to meet people, but…" He frowned, recalling the times he had been hit on during those nights. Women would approach him, but upon realising he was a guy, they quickly excused themselves. It should be statistically impossible, but apparently all women he encountered were indeed lesbians. Men would hit on him as well, and run away just as quickly.

"Am I really that girly?" He sighed. There were times when guys that approached him wouldn't be deterred by his gender, and while Yuuno was flattered, he had to decline. "I'm completely straight, and it's not like I can flip a switch and become gay. People can't just choose like that…"

"Using a dating service is also an option." He went on. "Even if it can be seen as a pathetic desperation attempt, I could swallow my pride and go for it."

"Just have to keep trying until I get lucky I guess." Yuuno decided before switching gears. "On the library front, all I can do is accept that I'm not needed anymore. Maybe I should take the chance and do some travelling? If I don't get invited to dig sites, maybe I'll get back to searching for my own? Or I could get back into contact with my clan. Even if few remember me, I could still be useful. Maybe I can teach the younger ones in the ways of the tribe?"

"There's plenty that I could do." He said with a slight smile. "I should stop feeling sorry for myself and go out and do them. But for right now I'll help Fate with this case."

Pleased he had devised potential courses of action, he continued his patrol in silence. He reached the top of an embankment which he remembered being the point furthest from the based. That meant he would start curving back to it and he began to do so when sounds sliced through the dead air.

He recognised the sounds almost immediately, both being things he rarely heard. One was the sound of gun shots, and the other was a scream.

"Some one please help!"

Yuuno sent a mental message back to the base before running towards the sound.

X-X-X

"There's no one around to help you!" A man growled, pointing his gun at his prey that had tripped and fallen. "There's no escape."

A mass of black and white attempted to scramble away, but it only had the energy to pant heavily as three men advanced on it. Clutching a cloth wrapped object to its chest, the figure could only hope for a miracle.

"This is what happens to those who try to defy us." The men cocked their hammers. "Goodbye!"

They all fired at once, three bullets streaking towards their flinching target. They might have hit their mark if not for a glowing green wall that deflected them.

"What?"

"Hold it right there!" A voice declared, drawing the men's attention.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them demanded.

"I'm just a passing-through archaeologist." Yuuno stated. "Now put down your weapons and surrender."

"Like hell!" The thugs shifted their aim and fired at Yuuno, but he pulled up a shield that the bullets harmlessly bounced off of.

"Damn, he's a mage!"

"Grrr… We have to fall back!" The lead goon ordered before the three turned and ran.

"Not so fast!" Yuuno said, stretching out a hand. Two of them men were out of range of his bind spell, but one wasn't so lucky. His arms were pinned to his chest and his legs bound together, causing him to fall over. "You're going to have to answer some questions."

"Screw you, Bureau dog!" The man spat. "You won't get anything from me!"

Yuuno tried, but he wasn't able to prevent the man from placing the gun under his own chin and pulling the trigger. Squeezing his eyes shut, Yuuno turned away in disgust as the ground absorbed another life.

Gatherings his wits, he turned to the one he had just saved.

"Everything's going to be okay now." He smiled. "Are you all right?"

The other person seemed to just stare at him a moment before suddenly jerking and scrambling backwards.

"W-Who are you?" A voice demanded. "Don't come any closer!"

"Don't worry, I won't harm you." Yuuno said calmly. He reached into his pocket to pulled out his ID card and showed it. "My name is Yuuno Scrya and I work for the Time Space Administration Bureau."

"You work for the Bureau?" The figure relaxed considerably. "Thank the Kaiser, I'm saved!"

"Back up should be here shortly," Yuuno informed. "We'll get you somewhere safe after that. Can tell me your name?"

"Miyako." She said, brushing her long black hair out of the way to reveal a young face with red eyes. She wore a simple white dress that was spotted with dirt and a little bit of blood that originated from the scrapes on her bare limbs. "Miyako Suzuki."

Yuuno blinked, wondering what a girl like her was doing out here, but first he knelt down and started applying healing magic to her wounds.

"T-Thanks…" Miyako's face tinged a bit from the contact.

"If you don't mind me asking, who were those men and why were they chasing you?"

"Those guys work for a man named Hummer." She explained. "I was being held by them but I escaped so they went after me. I'm sure they wanted to get this back at all costs too." She held out the object she had been carrying and slowly began to unwrap it. When it was revealed, Yuuno couldn't help by gawk.

In her hands, she held the Light of God.

* * *

Enter the OC! I said it was going to happen and here she is! I took her name from the Suzuki motor company, and Miyako from Hidamari Sketch. Miyako has the same VA as Yuuno, and her best friend is also named Yuno, so I decided to capitalize on that connection.

Now I know a lot of people hate OCs, but I hope you'll all stick around to see what I have planned.


	6. Chapter 4

"That was incredibly reckless!" Fate scolded when they were back at the base. "What if something happened to you? I knew I should have gone with you…"

"Calm down, Fate." Yuuno held up his hands defensively. "I would have waited for you to arrive, but if I didn't act when I did, they would have killed her. It worked out all right in the end anyways."

Fate shrunk back a bit, accepting her defeat. Even so, it still concerned her. "Just don't act your own again. Next time you may end up injured…"

"Please don't worry anymore, Fate." Yuuno said. "Everything's fine now."

Fate sighed. "Well, I guess it did have unexpected benefits. I never would have imagined we'd obtain the Lost Logia so quickly. I need to ask Ms Suzuki more about her circumstances."

"That's fine with me." Miyako said, exiting the door the other two had been waiting in front of. After a brief check and a few questions, the girl was allowed to take a shower and change her clothes. Her hair still damp, she now wore a Bureau standard issue shirt and skirt with matching shoes.

"Why don't we talk over a meal?" Fate smiled gently. "You must be hungry."

"A bit, yeah." Miyako answered, absently putting a hand over her stomach.

"Yuuno, why don't you head to the lab and begin the analysis?" Fate suggested. "I have Shari running some other checks so you'll be on your own for a bit."

"Okay then." Yuuno said, turning to leave.

"Uh… Wait!" Miyako cried meekly, getting the other two to look at her. "Er… Do you really have to go?" Her anxious eyes darted to Fate briefly.

Fate knew the look and understood from seeing it many times. While the girl was among strangers, Yuuno was the least strange to her, especially compared to Fate, whose black uniform often put others ill at ease. The raven haired girl wasn't ready to be separated from her safe base just yet.

"Well then, why don't you join us instead, Yuuno." Fate said.

"Sure." Yuuno nodded, picking up on his friend's intent. Miyako let out a little sigh of relief before the three of them headed to the cafeteria. Since it wasn't a scheduled meal time, it was completely empty and they had to ask the chef to make them individual servings.

They ate in silence first, giving the escapee time to fill her belly before Fate began her questioning.

"Now then Ms Suzuki, could you tell us your story?" The blonde asked.

"Right," Miyako nodded while using a napkin to wipe excess food from her mouth. "Guess I should start from the beginning then?"

"Always a good place to start." Fate remained smiling, trying to make the other girl feel less uneasy.

"Well, like I introduced myself before I'm Miyako Suzuki." She began. "I've spent my entire life on Mid in various places on the planet. First I lived with my parents in Clanagan until I was about ten when my father died."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Fate offered her sympathy.

"It's okay, it happened so long ago." Miyako smiled sadly. "After that my mom tried her best to support us, but she just couldn't find work and we eventually found ourselves on the street."

"That's harsh…" Yuuno whispered.

"It was tough, yeah," Miyako concurred. "But we managed and I was still happy so long as I had my mother."

Fate thought back to her own mother and understood the feeling well.

"But even she didn't last long…" The other female lowered her head. "She died too and I was suddenly on my own, doing whatever I could to survive on the street. It was at that time when I was picked up, had a price tag slapped on me and sold to the highest bidder."

"How horrible." Fate turned her smile into a frown. She had fought long and hard to stamp out those child trafficking rings, but there were always more out there.

"Yeah, well, I'll admit I accepted it at first." Miyako confessed with a huff. "I mean, at least I had a roof over my head and gruel to eat. It was better than sleeping in boxes and digging through trash bins. The one who bought me eventually was Hummer, and I was brought out here to be, what he called, his little slave girl. So for years he had me scrubbing the floors, cleaning toilets, being his punching bag, stuff like that."

"But I learned to accept all that harsh treatment." She pressed on. "Like I said, it beat being on the street."

Fate considered her words a moment. The girl's story appeared to be genuine, but a small doubt was bothering the enforcer. She studied the young red eyed female, noting how the girl's black hair fell down her back like a silk waterfall, how her skin looked creamy and smooth, and how her delicate hands topped with neatly trimmed nails rested on the table. To be certain, Miyako was a beautiful young woman.

That's exactly what didn't fit.

"Ms Suzuki," Fate said, Yuuno being the only one to catch the slight flatness in her tone. "I'm sorry for sounding suspicious, but for some one who has gone through such things, you are surprisingly well groomed."

"Huh?" Miyako blinked, not quite getting it.

"You say you were treated harshly, so why aren't there scars, bruises or other signs of mistreatment? Instead you look like you have regular cosmetic treatment."

"Oh." Miyako absently pushed her hair behind her ear and frowned. "Yeah, Hummer made sure I always looked my best. He never hit my face and would allow me certain luxuries. A doll is pointless if it isn't looking its best, he would say. Also said that he would eventually pluck the flower he was so carefully growing."

Fate and Yuuno caught the implication immediately. "I see…" Fate slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I didn't think…"

"Don't worry about it Enforcer." Miyako smiled sadly. "I turned twenty recently and I guess he decided that I was 'ripe' enough for him. Before I had just resigned myself to being his play thing, but sitting there on his bed while he went off to 'get ready' I couldn't stand the thought of him getting his hands on me…" She shivered at the thought.

"Escaping had crossed my mind before," She explained. "But this time the pros outweighed the cons. I figured taking my chances in the wasteland was better than letting myself be defiled by that guy. I saw the gun in his room, sitting in that fancy display he always kept it in and decided to take it, you know, to really throw a wrench into things. I managed to sneak outside before the alarms went off. Then I just ran and hoped for the best. Thankfully the best happened." She shot a smile at Yuuno.

"I was just at the right place at the right time." Yuuno smiled back shyly. "I'm glad I was."

"Don't worry, you're safe now." Fate assured her, putting her hand gently over Miyako's. "We'll make sure nothing happens to you, but we're also going to need your help."

"I'll assist in any way I can." Miyako nodded resolutely.

"First, would you tell me the location of Hummer's base so we can organize an attack?"

"Err… Sorry…" She grinned sheepishly. "I can't tell you that because I don't know. I was rarely allowed outside, and when I made my escape I just ran, not really paying attention to where I was going. All the rocks looked the same to me anyways… But!" She brightened. "I know the layout of the inside by heart and could probably draw you a map or something."

"That would be great." Fate smiled. "Let's get you set up then."

They left the cafeteria and Fate led them to a conference room. Noticing that her aide was making her way towards them, the Enforcer gestured inside.

"Ms Suzuki, please wait in here. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Okay." She replied, closing the door behind her.

"What have you got for me, Shari?" Fate asked the brunette when she joined them.

"Got her background check right here." Shari said, pulling up a magic display. Fate scanned the data and nodded her head.

"Her record ends when she was eleven, so that matches up with what she told us." Fate mused. "Doesn't look like she has any other relatives either…"

"What now, Fate-san?" Shari asked.

"I'll take care of Ms Suzuki," she answered, "while you two get started on analyzing the Lost Logia."

"Roger that." The two with glasses replied before leaving.

"Sorry for the wait." Fate apologised as she joined Miyako in the conference room.

"Um…" Red eyes darted back and forth. "Where's Mr Scrya?"

"Hm?" Fate blinked. "I'm having him analyze the weapon you brought us. Are you uncomfortable without him here?"

"No, it's not that." Miyako laughed sheepishly. "I just… nah, it's no big deal. Forget it."

Fate stood a moment before breaking into a small grin. She pulled out a chair and sat. "You're interested in him."

"Well…" She flushed. "Maybe a little…"

Fate felt her grin grow. She might just be able to help her friend out after all.


	7. Chapter 5

NGTM-R: It's not that Fate doubted Yuuno's compotence, she was just being her normal, worrywart self ^^" Also it'd be hard to block the suicide attempt since the gun was pressed right up against the guy's chin. There's no room to fit a barrier in there...

Anywho, this chapter is quite long and it is filled with plenty of Shari face time and lots of mostly made up science mumbo jumbo!

* * *

Even though Shari hungrily licked her lips before they started working, her and Yuuno didn't have anything to actually do other than sit around and wait for the computer to do its scan of the object.

"This part of it always sucks." Shari pouted.

And so with nothing to do, the pair pulled up a hologram and engaged in some games of virtual chess. While they manoeuvred their pieces, they also occupied themselves with idle chatter. They discussed topics like Yuuno's paper on ancient machines, Fate, the case, and other current events.

"Always feels weird getting back to work after the holidays." Shari sighed slightly as she captured Yuuno's pawn with her bishop.

"What exactly did you do for the holidays?" Yuuno inquired, capturing her bishop in turn.

"Every year I celebrate with Griffith's family." She explained while contemplating her next move. "His mom always makes a feast."

"How is Admiral Leti doing these days?"

"Oh you know her, the same as always." She grinned as her knight took Yuuno's rook. "Still getting wicked drunk whenever there's a party."

Yuuno chuckled, recalling the cherry blossom party from long ago. "She's an interesting drunk."

"Never a dull moment with her around." Shari grinned, but then frowned as Yuuno took her rook. She smiled again when she captured his bishop. "The look on Griffith's face as he tries to keep her in check is absolutely priceless too. He's so serious it's adorable."

Shari laughed then, the music of it making it easy for Yuuno's lips to upturn. The more time he spent with her, the more he enjoyed himself. She had merely been a mild acquaintance before, just Fate's aide, but now he could easily see himself considering her a friend.

Studying her a bit more, he noted that there was a rather modest beauty to her. While she may get overshadowed by standing next to her bombshell of a superior, she was still rather attractive in her own right. That, along with her sharp mind, boundless energy, fierce passion, and lively sense of humour, Yuuno mused that Griffith was definitely a man to be envied.

On that note Yuuno found himself thinking of the young woman he had just met hours ago. She too was also quite beautiful, her shiny, ink black hair in particular was stunning. It wasn't often the librarian encountered some one with hair like hers. The smile she had beamed at him earlier remained prominent in his mind's eye and he couldn't help but admire the strength behind it. She had been through so much in her life, yet she was still able make such an expression. The light in her crimson eyes were also…

"So what did you do for the holidays, professor?"

"Hm?" Shari's words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Oh, nothing really. I just worked and spent time by myself at home."

"Eh? That's no way to spend the holidays!" Shari admonished. "You're supposed to get together with others and have fun!"

"Yeah, well…" Yuuno scratched his cheek sheepishly as he moved his queen across the board. "I didn't have any one to get together with, so…"

"Hmmm…" Shari frowned in thought as she stared at the board. "Next year how about you come celebrate with us then?"

"Huh?" Yuuno blinked.

"Yeah! Griffith wouldn't mind, and I'm sure Admiral Leti would love to see you again. Mariel often comes to visit as well. You'd have lots to talk about with her."

Yuuno considered it but shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"Oh don't be like that." Shari waved him off with one hand, moved a pawn with the other. "The more the merrier!"

Figuring she probably wouldn't take no for an answer, he decided to play it safe. "Next year I'll consider it, thanks."

"Excellent." Shari grinned, both at his response and the move he just made. "Fu fu fu, I've got you now professor!" She chuckled evilly, wiggling her fingers in the air in what was supposed to be some sort of threatening gesture. She dramatically reached down, moving her queen in for the kill. "Next move will be check!"

Yuuno smirked. "Not if I do this." He moved his other rook along the now cleared path until it was in line with Shari's king. The king in question was surrounded by its subjects on all sides save for one, simultaneously leaving it open for attack and preventing it from fleeing. "Checkmate."

"Gah!" Shari dramatically threw up her hands. "You got me!"

"I knew if I left myself open you would fall right into my trap." He explained.

"I bet you have thousands of strategies memorized, don't you?" She pursed her lips. "And here I thought only computers were cheating bastards…"

"I won fair and square." Yuuno stated.

"It won't be the same next time!" The brunette declared. Before they could start another game, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!"

The door slid open and the pair were surprised to see Miyako poke her head in.

"Ms Suzuki?" Yuuno blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well," She chuckled nervously. "I finished the map, and Enforcer Takamachi told me I could find you here, so…"

"Did you need me for something?" He asked.

"No, I just wanted to see what you were doing…" Miyako's red eyes fell to the other girl in the room.

"Oh, let me introduce you." Yuuno rose. "This is Fate's aide, and an expert device technician…"

"Shario Finieno." She said, holding out her hand. "But everyone calls me Shari."

"Miyako Suzuki," The other girl returned the gesture. "Nice to meet you."

"Ditto." Shari smiled. "As for what we're doing, we're just sitting on our butts until the computer finishes its scan."

"Oh." Miyako glanced over to the computer's screen. "It says it's done."

"Really?" Shari turned around to see that the word COMPLETE was flashing on the display. "Huh, I guess we were too preoccupied to notice." She said, rubbing her eyes as she made her way over and sat in the chair. She tickled the keyboard and caused some data to pop up along with a 3D model of the weapon.

"So what did it find out?" Yuuno asked as he stood behind her.

"… A whole lot of nothing." Shari frowned. "Guess I spoke too soon when I said this equipment would do fine…" A graph enlarged. "Here's the spectrum analysis, but it doesn't match with any material in its database. As such…" The model filled the screen and began to rotate. "All we can get is the outward appearance. It doesn't know what frequency to use to be able to get a cross section."

"So what exactly does that mean?" Miyako asked with a tilt of her head.

"It means we don't know what it's made out of and we can't see inside it without taking it apart." Shari simplified. "But there are no visible screws or anything, so I don't think we can dismantle it without destroying it completely."

"… Why don't you just destroy it?" Miyako pondered. "It's dangerous, right? Why bother to study it in the first place?"

"To find out what secrets it could hold." Yuuno explained. "There's no telling what it could tell us about those who made it, and maybe the technology within could be used for good. It's also possible there could be more of these out there, so knowing how it works and what it's capable of is a vital asset."

"Hm… I see." Miyako smiled at him. "I guess what you do is really important, then."

"R-Really?" He flushed a bit. "I guess so…" Bringing his mind back to the task at hand, he asked Shari to display all the data again. She did so, and he studied it closely, checking it against the knowledge contained in his own mind. He got a hit.

"I know that spectral pattern!" He declared. "It's Orichalcum."

"Really?" Shari blinked. "That legendary metal?"

"It's not as legendary as you think." Yuuno said. "We find it scattered in ruins all over the universe. Yeah…" He mused, walking over to where the gun hung suspended in a field. He put a hand in and ran it along the artefact. "This texture, it's definitely Orichalcum. That means we'll need to use a frequency of 30 exahertz in order to penetrate the surface and get an internal view." Yuuno walked over and keyed in the values himself. A few moments later another model appeared on the screen. "Yeah, there we are."

He felt gazes on his back and turned to see the girls staring at him.

"I don't know what you just did but it sounded impressive." Miyako said.

"Where can I get one of you for myself?" Shari chuckled.

Yuuno blushed at the attention. "Err, I didn't do all that much…"

"Being all modest again…" Shari turned to study the x-ray, which consisted mostly of a mass of wires and conduits. "Looks like some one spilled spaghetti in here… Hm…" She knit her eyebrows together. "Well there's the main storage unit, and here's a vent for the excess energy… But it's odd, there's no connector for the wielder to pump their magic into, and I have no idea what these things are." She gestured to circular objects that lined the interior of the gun."

"You don't know?" Miyako blinked. "Aren't you supposed to be an expert or something?"

Shari smiled humourlessly. "I specialize in modern technology. This ancient stuff is a little beyond my expertise."

"But not yours, right?" Miyako turned to Yuuno.

"I've studied ancient artefacts like this for most of my life, so it would be right to call this my area of expertise." Yuuno nodded. "I'm also the head librarian of the Infinity Library and have seen plenty of schematics and the like in books there. As such, I do know what those are."

"Do tell." Shari prompted.

"They're Peripheral Energy Congregators. The reason there's no device to gather mana from a mage is because it doesn't need one."

"I see!" Shari's eyes sparkled. "That makes sense! Therefore these channels here bring power to the main battery and store it there for use at any time. And these objects here must be brakes to prevent the gun from overloading!"

"Right, and here you have a gyroscopic flux motor that keeps all the energy in motion so it never loses its charge." Yuuno added. "From the looks of things it'd say its storage capacity is well over nine thousand megajoules."

Shari just gawked. "… I think I'm in love."

Yuuno laughed. "Well I hate to break it to you, but I'm afraid your new lover is going to be sealed away permanently once we're done with it. With this kind of payload we can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

"Um…" Miyako shyly raised her hand. "Sorry for being the dumb one in the room, but could you explain what you just said so I can understand it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Yuuno grinned sheepishly. "Basically this gun doesn't draw mana from a mage, but instead it takes energy from the surrounding environment and fires it."

"I guess you could call it a hand held Starlight Breaker." Shari mused.

"That's pretty apt, actually…" Yuuno chuckled.

"So the thing is just as powerful as Hummer claimed it was, then." Miyako mused.

"Yup." Shari nodded. "But come to think of it, it is strange…"

"What is?" Yuuno asked.

"It doesn't appear to be active at all right now." She explained. "There's no mana in the storage unit either… Is it broken, or does it just not work?"

"Hm…" Yuuno pondered. "Ms Suzuki, do you know anything about this? What did Hummer do to active it?"

The girl thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't know. He just brought it back to the base one day, saying how great it was and how with it he'd finally topple the Bureau."

"… And everyone believed him?" Shari arched an eyebrow.

"That's the thing with Hummer." Miyako shrugged. "He says things with such energy and conviction that you can't help but think everything he says is true. That's how he's been able to gather so many followers: when he says he'll take over the TSAB, others think it's inevitable. He could claim to be the second coming for the Saint Kaiser and no one would question it. So he never demonstrated the gun's power because he didn't need to."

"That's usually how charismatic leaders function." Yuuno stated. "So was it all just a bluff? I don't think so… It's made out of Orichalcum, which isn't something you can obtain to make a fake."

"Hmm…" Shari rotated the 3D model on screen. "Then there should be something… Aha!" She pointed to an area that had what appeared to have several buttons under the surface. "There's a key pad hidden here!"

Yuuno went to the gun and took it from its field. He rolled it over in his hands until he found the area in question on the side. "There must be some way to access it…"

Miyako joined him at his side. "I don't suppose saying 'Open Sesame' would…"

To the surprise of all those present, there was a faint whirring sound before the panel slid open, revealing ten buttons marked with Arabic numerals.

"… Wow, you mean that actually worked?" Shari gasped.

"… I guess so…" Miyako whispered.

"Hm… Close." Yuuno commanded, causing the panel to do just that. "Open." Again the orders were followed. "So it's set to our language… And I imagine that by inputting the proper numeric sequence, we can active the weapon."

"Wanna try randomly pushing buttons?" Shari suggested with a smirk.

"No, we don't know if we might set off some kind of defence system." Yuuno said.

"Then how can we…" Shari cut herself off with a yawn. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Tired?" Yuuno smiled softly with a glance at the clock. "Wow, I guess it did become quite late."

"I'm fine." Shari waved it off. "Just the all nighter I pulled last night catching up with me. Griffith was in desperate need of my services and kept me up the whole time."

"Oh…" Yuuno flushed. "Well, maybe we should call it a night, then."

"Nah, I should be good for awhile longer." Shari insisted.

"I think I'll head off to bed, though." Miyako said, making her way to the door. She paused once there and looked over her shoulder at Yuuno. "I'm not sure of my way around here, so could you walk me to the room they gave me?"

"Huh?" Yuuno pointed dumbly at himself. "Me? But I'm not too familiar with the base either, plus…"

"Please?" She asked, those wistful eyes pulling him in.

"It's okay, professor." Shari chimed in. "I'll be fine on my own for a few minutes."

"Okay then…" Yuuno scratched the back of his head as he put the gun away before following Miyako out of the room. They made their way down the silent hallway, most of the base inactive at that hour.

"So…" Miyako broke the silence. "That was really impressive, the way you figured out how that gun worked."

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without Shari's help." He replied. "Yours either. You took a big risk but thanks to you we were able to get the artefact, and just now you figured out how to get the keypad open."

"That was just dumb luck, though." The girl chuckled. "What you did took brains and clearly you have a lot of those."

"Err, thank you Ms Suzuki…" Yuuno's face reddened. He really wasn't used to receiving so much praise at once.

"You can call me Miyako, Mr Scrya." She said.

"Okay, you can call me Yuuno then." He said back.

"Well then, Yuuno…" She looked down bashfully when she said it. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Enforcer Takamachi told me that you didn't have a girlfriend. Is that true?"

Yuuno reel back a bit. Why would Fate have told her that?

"Yes, it's true…" He said, slightly slumping his shoulders. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just surprised, that's all." She said. "I mean, I may have only known you for a short time, but I can tell you're a really good person."

"How can you tell?" He blinked in curiosity.

"It's just something you pick up on the street." She shrugged a shoulder. "You learn to tell if some one is genuinely being kind to you or if they're just acting so they can use you. You're the first man in a long time that has been truly nice to me, and I figured that some other girl would have claimed you already…"

"I think you may be viewing me too highly…" He smiled derisively. "I've never had much luck with women. Those I've been close to have all turned out to be lesbians, and I guess I'm too effeminate to attract other girls. Maybe it's my hair?" Yuuno pondered, reaching back to touch his ponytail.

"I think your hair makes you look very dashing!" Miyako stated firmly. "It makes you look like a prince! When I first saw you I thought that you were my prince charming, come to save me like in those fairy tales my mother would always read to me."

Yuuno just looked at her with wide eyes, causing her to look away and blush.

"Sorry, you must think it's weird for some one my age to still believe in fairy tales." She sighed. "But sometimes believing in them were the only thing that kept me going. I always held onto the hope that someday I'd be swept away by someone and taken somewhere that I could be happy. I really think that person is you."

"I-I see…" Yuuno stuttered. "But I still don't think…"

"No, I'm sure of it." Miyako shook her head. "You're kind, smart, capable, and handsome too. I… I really think I've fallen for you…"

Yuuno honestly didn't know what to say. This was the first time a female had shown genuine interest in him and had accepted the things many other girls had turned away from. He felt his heart beat rapidly, a comforting warmth spreading through his entire body. This alien sensation was anything but unpleasant and made him feel lighter than air. This must be what people described as 'having your head in the clouds.'

"I know we've just met and all," Miyako continued. "But after this is over, would you like to get together, you know, so we can get to know each other better?"

"O-Okay." Yuuno stammered out. "I… I would like that."

"Really?" Miyako beamed. "Thank you, Yuuno!" In a flash, she had leaned up and pressed her lips to his cheek. "I can find my way from here, so I'll see you tomorrow. Good night!"

"Good night…" He called after her as she disappeared around the corner. He just stood there a few moments before heading back, all the while resisting the urge to skip there. 'So that's why Fate sent her to the lab.' He realised. Suddenly the image of his friend giving him a thumbs up appeared in his head.

He had never felt so ecstatic before. Did everyone feel this way when they had some one who liked them? Would he ever be able to wipe this grin off his face?

Returning to the lab, Yuuno's expression softened as he saw Shari sleeping at her console, her head resting on her arms. Chuckling lightly he shed his suit coat and draped it over her shoulders.

He sat at another console and accessed the library's files again. The high he was currently on would never allow him to sleep, so he figured he should get some searching in. Perhaps he would be able to find the key to activating the Lost Logia somewhere in the ancient writings.

Eventually he came across a passage that stood out to him. It read 'The Light of God is brought forth by the three pronged code of battle.'

"Code of battle?" Yuuno wondered. "What could that be?"

He cooked that thought in his mind until he finally fell asleep.

* * *

I know the newest Force chapter has made Griffith/Lucino canon, but bear in mind I had this fic planned out long before Force came around.

While I did look up some stuff on wikipedia, a lot of the sciencey things are made up and probably horribly inaccurate, but please ignore that

About the prince bit, when Fate's new barrier jacket hair style was revealed, I kept seeing people go on about how Fate was like Nanoha's prince. Naturally my thoughts were "Uh... Yuuno's had that hair cut a lot longer, so how come he's not a prince too?"

Finding out some one is willing to go out with you really is a great feeling. I've only had the pleasure of experiencing it once, and even though it probably didn't actually count, I still fondly remember the feeling.


	8. Chapter 6

Deva: I find it amusing you think Yuuno is too feminine to be a prince, but not Fate who is, you know, _actually a girl! _XD Anyways, I know why the fandom acts the way it does, but it's still silly to say a low ponytail makes one person a princely, but not another.

* * *

He woke to the smell of coffee the next morning. Sitting up to rub his eyes, he noticed that his coat was now back on his shoulders.

"Good morning, professor." Shari greeted over her mug. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess." He stifled yawned. "How about you?"

"Great, thanks." She seemed to consider him a moment. "You look extremely cheerful. Did something happen?"

"Eh?" Yuuno thought back to his conversation with Miyako and blushed slightly. "Not really…"

"Hm…" Shari gave him a suspicious look.

"A-Anyways…" He shrank under her gaze. "Let's get back to work."

"You have any leads?" She asked.

"There is one thing." Yuuno said, telling her of what he read the night before.

"Code of battle, eh?" The brunette mused. "What could that be?"

"Good morning!" Miyako sang as she entered, wheeling a cart before her. On it were three plates of hot food. "I brought you breakfast."

"T-Thanks." Yuuno said, face going red at the sight of her. His reaction caused her to mirror it.

"No problem…" She whispered.

Shari's eyes passed between them. "Hmmm…"

They quickly ate in relative silence before focusing their now full tanks on the riddle of the code of battle.

"Battle, huh?" Miyako wondered after she had been filled in.

"It has to be numerical," Shari concluded. "Three pronged? Does that mean three digits?"

"Probably." Yuuno nodded. "Three numbers… battle…" He ran through all the languages he knew for words synonymous with battle, trying to decipher what could be converted into a number with three digits. "Maybe…"

"You got something in mind?" Shari asked.

"It's a long shot," He said. "But in Nanoha's home country they associate words and numbers based on pronunciation. 'Ikusa' means fight, war, or battle, and converting that to numbers would be…"

Yuuno went and took the gun out of its field again, opened the panel and pushed three buttons. "One, nine, and three."

"**RE-DEE-EE."** A metallic voice croaked out as the weapon hummed to life.

"Wow, as expected of Yuuno!" Miyako grinned. "You figured it out!"

"Y-Yeah." Yuuno tried inputting the code again, and this time it made the gun cease functioning.

"So that's the on/off switch." Shari mused. "Job well done, professor."

"To you as well, Shari." Yuuno smiled as he put the artefact back in suspension.

"If you ever get tired of being a librarian, you should come join the technical division." Shari grinned as she pushed her glasses up her nose. "Guess all that's left to do now is report to Fate-san and our work will be done."

"I'll go do that." Yuuno offered. "I have something else I need to discuss with her. You two can wait here if you want."

"Okay," Miyako said. "I need to clean breakfast up anyways. See you in a bit!"

Yuuno smiled as he left the room and headed towards the command center where he figured Fate would be.

When he left, Shari turned back to the monitor to begin putting the formal report together. She kind of wished she could study the weapon more, but knew that wasn't her call.

While typing away, she heard the door slide open behind her. She wondered if Yuuno had forgetten something.

"Kyaa!" When she heard Miyako's yelp and a loud crash, Shari quickly spun around.

"What's…?" She didn't get to finish before something covered her mouth and her world went black.

X-X-X

"You work fast as always Yuuno." Fate smiled after he briefed her.

"Well I had plenty of help this time." He said.

"Yes, speaking of…" She gave him a sly grin. "What do you think of Ms Suzuki?"

"Ah…" Yuuno flushed. "She's a nice girl with a lot of inner strength."

"And…" Fate almost sang it.

"Well… I guess I should thank you." He smiled bashfully. "For giving us an opportunity. She says she wants to get to know me better, so after this case is over…"

"I'm glad." His friend nudged him lightly with her elbow. "Didn't I say you might meet some one on this assignment?"

"Heh, guess I should have known better than to doubt you, Fate." Yuuno couldn't help but grin. It really was such a nice feeling that filled him and he hoped it would last for a long time.

"Well then that's all the more reason to wrap this up as soon as possible." Fate declared. "Once we manage to locate Hummer's base, we'll move in and capture him and his men and then it will be over. So, where do you think you'll take her first?"

"Err, I haven't thought that far…" He scratched his cheek.

"Well if you need I'm tips, I'm…" A fierce rumble shook the building, almost causing the blondes to lose their footing. "What was that?"

The room erupted in noise with personnel scrambling about, trying to get a grasp on the situation.

"One of the generators blew!" Some one shouted.

"What? But they had their maintenance the other day!"

"These models should shut down before they overload anyways…"

"Do you think it was sabotage then?"

"Calm down!" The commander barked. "Give me a damage report!"

"Generator C is up in flames and took D with it!" A tech reported. "A and B are still functioning, but the fire is spreading!"

"Casualties?"

"Some were near the blast, but they've reported in with no grave injuries. They're still trapped near the flames though and need rescue!"

"Sir, I can't seem to contact Ensign Ricky!" Another voice shouted. "He could be…"

Yuuno pondered the situation. The timing of it all seemed too coincidental to him. They had just gotten their hands on the enemy's ultimate weapon the day before, and now all this was happening. It was enough time to formulate such a plan, and if they had some one on the inside…

Glancing at an onscreen map, he realised that the generator room was on the opposite end of the base from the lab. If it was just a distraction, their real goal was…

"Oh no!" Yuuno impulsively bolted out of the room.

"Yuuno, where are you going?" Fate cried to go after him, but the commander stopped her.

"Enforcer Takamachi, I need you to assist the rescue and fire fighting efforts!"

"But…"

"Quickly!" He took her wrist and pulled her away. Fate stopped resisting, knowing that lives needed saving. She just hoped that whatever Yuuno was doing, he'd be all right.

X-X-X

Yuuno opened the door to the lab, his worst fearing being realized instantly. The room was completely empty, save for the trays and broken plates scattered all over the floor. The Light, Shari, and Miyako were all gone.

"Damn it!" He cursed, running to the exit he concluded the perpetrator must be escaping through. 'Fate! There was a mole!' He cried mentally. 'They've taken Miyako and Shari, along with the Lost Logia! I'm going after them!'

'What?' Fate's voice resounded in his head. 'Yuuno, don't run off on your own! I can't get away from what I'm doing right now, so wait for me to meet up with you!'

'There's no time!' He thought back.

'Yuuno!' He heard her cry before he cut their connection. When he reached the exit he saw the door was wide open, drag marks and footprints leading off into the wasteland.

"They couldn't have gone far." He muttered. "Shari, Miyako, hold on!"

* * *

I think this is the first time I've had to have serious justification for a reference ^^"

For those who didn't catch on, pretty much everything regarding the gun is a Kamen Rider reference:

Unadministered world 555: Kamen Rider Faiz can also be written as 555

Orphenoc: the monsters in Faiz

The gun itself is supposed to look like Kamen Rider W's Trigger Magnum in Maximum Drive mode

The code stuff: in Kamen Rider Kiva, there was another Kamen Rider named IXA who would enter the code 1-9-3 in a phone to activate its Rising IXA form. Like explained, IXA (or ikusa) can mean battle, and corresponds to 1-9-3 on a number pad. The "RE-DE-EE" (Ready) is what IXA's belt says before he transforms.


	9. Chapter 7

Yuuno ran, following the trail in the dirt. The marks worried him greatly, as there was only one set of footprints next to a single streak. That told him that one person was dragging another, but no more. He just prayed that the spy was carrying some one on their shoulder, because the only other possibility was that they had disposed of one of the girls.

"If either of them has been hurt…" He growled darkly, unable to think of a continuation to that sentence. He wasn't one for violence but if something had happened to his friend and potential girlfriend…

X-X-X

"Don't let up!" The base commander yelled to his men as they sprayed the flames.

"Here's another injured!" Fate called as she ran out of the blaze carrying a woman on her back.

"Great, I think that should be the last of them!" The commander said. "Take her to the infirmary with the others!"

Fate nodded and ran off, making sure not to go too fast else she cause pain to her passenger. She handed the woman off to the base doctor and was now free to go after Yuuno and her aide.

Before she could do so, some one called to her. "Enforcer!"

"What's wrong?"

"Um…" The young girl licked her dry lips. "We've found something I think you should see… It's… It's a body…"

Fate's eyes widened as she was lead to the scene. The stench of fresh death assaulted her nostrils as she saw the corpse that had been bludgeoned severely.

While the face was completely destroyed, the hair and familiar uniform were still distinguishable. Fate had to resist the urge to fall to her knees.

"No…"

X-X-X

Shari groaned as she came to. The first thing she realised was that some one was dragging her, making her butt rather sore from all the rocks.

"So you're awake." She heard a voice.

"Who are you?" Shari muttered, her vision blurry and unable to make out the face of her captor.

"I'm sure Master Hummer will find plenty of uses for you." The voice continued. "Don't think about trying anything either." The figure held up what Shari assumed was the Light of God. "I know how to use this. I copied the data from the terminal."

"You won't get away with this." Shari managed.

"Everyone always says that." The other person laughed. "Oh look, here's our ride."

Shari head the crunch of rock and the squeal of brakes as a vehicle pulled up.

'Fate-san…' Shari willed mentally. 'Professor… Help!"

X-X-X

Yuuno heard the idling of an engine close by and quickened his pace. He crested a small hill and saw the Jeep.

'Found them!' He cheered mentally. "Stop!" He shouted, jumping down automatically. The logical side of his mind told him he should plan things out first, but the rest of his body told him to just act.

He ran towards the figures in the distance, ready to throw up a shield to block any oncoming attacks, but when he reached them he froze, his hands falling limply to his sides.

Only two people were before him.

Shari was yanked to her feet, her captor's hand going to her jugular while the other pointed the Light of God at him.

"That's far enough." They said.

Yuuno wanted to believe this was a dream or some kind of sick joke, but the reality of the situation was apparent. Ignoring the way his chest was restricting, he asked the only thing that came to mind.

"… Why?" He croaked. "Why are you doing this?"

"That should be obvious, Yuuno." Miyako said simply. "This is all for Master Hummer's sake."

"… Master?" Yuuno swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat. "Was everything you said a lie?"

"Only a little bit of it." The raven haired girl replied. "That part of me living on the street and being sold was true, but the rest wasn't. Master Hummer didn't treat me harshly, instead he treated me warmly like all his other followers. He's much different than the damn Bureau that chased me and my mother out of our home! I was happy, being with him and will continue to be happy with him. Once I return after successfully completing this assignment, he'll finally make me his woman!"

"Why did you need to do such an assignment?" Yuuno demanded.

"Because of this gun, you see." Miyako nodded over to The Light. "Master bought it off the black market, but no one could figure out how to use it. That's when he came up with a plan. It was a bit of a gamble, but if we let this gun fall into the Bureau's hands, they'd figure everything out for us. At that point all I'd have to do was steal it back and escape. We had a mole at the base here, so when we learned that an Enforcer was coming who was an expert in Lost Logia, we enacted the plan."

"You know the rest." She went on. "We staged a little show near a patrol route and I got taken in. I didn't expect it to be so easy, though." Miyako laughed. "That Enforcer friend of yours is such a naïve, good natured moron that it was almost too simple to dupe her. And then there's you, so desperate that you were seduced with little effort. I'm glad I stuck to you, though, as you proved extremely useful in finding out this toy's secrets."

Yuuno clenched his fists tightly, angry at himself for being used so easily. He wanted to act out, but using a bind was out of the question since Shari was so close. Even if he did attempt it, the man who committed suicide the day before proved that binds didn't prevent certain actions. All he could do was continue to try and make sense of things. "So that's all I was?"

"Well…" Miyako seemed to get an idea. "You are a good guy, Yuuno, so why don't you come with me?"

"… What?"

"That's right!" Miyako smiled. "Come and serve Master Hummer! With your talents, you'll be welcomed with open arms! Think about it, what has the Bureau ever done for you? What good will come from staying with your lonely existence? Come with me and I'll give you all the love you desire!"

"Professor, don't!" Shari tried to speak, but Miyako just pressed her nails harder against the brunette's throat.

"Keep quiet." Miyako snarled before smiling sweetly at Yuuno. "So what do you say?"

Yuuno remained silent as his options twisted around in his head.

* * *

Just once I wish I could have a plot twist no one sees something ^^" Oh well.

From here there's two more endings.


	10. Bad End 2

She was right, Yuuno realised. Why should he stay with the Bureau? They were the ones who didn't need him anymore and were close to tossing him away. His so called friends were the same way too, always forgetting about him as they were happy and he was miserable. Fate may have been putting on a concerned friend visage, but wasn't that for her own satisfaction? She didn't really care about him, did she? She just pitied him and to ease her own conscience pretended to help.

Going with Miyako would open a whole new opportunity. If he joined with her, he could really be a somebody in the resistance. With a young, beautiful girl like her at his side, surely he'd finally be happy!

"You're right, Miyako." He said. "No one on that side ever cared about me, so why the hell should I care about them? If you're willing to accept me, I'll gladly serve Hummer."

"That's wonderful, Yuuno!" Miyako smiled, roughly tossing Shari away. She held out her hand and he happily took it, the two of them then running to the jeep. They hopped into the back seat as the driver sped away. There was a moment where Yuuno felt bad about all the people he was leaving behind, but the feeling disappeared when he realised they probably wouldn't miss him at all.

"You made the right choice." Miyako assured him. Taking his cheeks in her hands, she pulled him forward and brought her mouth to his. Yuuno savoured the sensation of her tongue dancing with his, realising that this was his first kiss.

Then he felt something solid fall down his throat.

"What…" He muttered before his world began spinning. He lost all strength in his body and slumped into the seat.

"Don't worry about it." Miyako whispered sweetly as she stroked his hair. "From now on you'll do whatever I say, understood?"

"Yes m'am…" He said drearily.

Miyako smirked. "That's a good boy."

* * *

Normally I wouldn't have multiple endings like this, but I just had the ideas and wanted to use them. I explained the first Bad End in chapter 2 already, and with this one I wanted to do a Nasu-esque Bad End, taking a few things from various Kohaku related incidents. Just let me be clear that this ending and the one before it **do not count**. It's the next one that is the authentic end to the tale.


	11. True End

Final chapter time! Remember, this is the _100% true, authentic ending!_

* * *

Yuuno resolved himself. He knew there was only one option for him.

"You're right, Miyako." He said, slowly walking closer. "No one on that side ever cared about me, so why the hell should I care about them? If you're willing to accept me, I'll gladly serve Hummer."

"You're a smart man, Yuuno." Miyako grinned, lowering the gun. "You're honest with yourself too. I really like that."

"What about her?" Yuuno asked, meeting Shari's gaze. "I doubt she'll just _close her eyes_ to everything."

"Oh I'm sure Master can make her see things differently." Miyako chuckled. "Everyone has a breaking point."

"That's true." Yuuno nodded as he stood directly before the two girls. "You've gone past mine."

Before she could react, Yuuno brought up a hand and opened his fist, an orb of light appearing in his palm. Normally used to light dark areas, this time the spell had a blinding effect, causing Miyako to reflexively withdraw her hand from Shari's neck to shield her vision. Yuuno used that opening to pull away the brunette, who had closed her eyes as instructed. Keeping a firm grip on the younger girl's hand, Yuuno ran, hoping they could reach cover before Miyako recovered.

It was no use, however, as the raven haired girl aimed her gun blindly in their general direction.

"You bastard!" She growled. "That life, return it to God!"

**"Full charge."** The gun intoned as the trigger was pulled.

Time seemed to move slower in that moment as the large burst of destructive force crept towards them. Thinking quickly, Yuuno projected a barrier, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. He knew it was probably the end of the road for him, but he had something more important to protect.

Yanking Shari forward, he pushed her to the ground and allowed his body to fall on top of hers. He barely registered the look of shock on her face before the immense heat shattered his barrier and passed over him.

The scent of burnt hair and flesh filled the air as the beam dissipated. The searing pain on his back told Yuuno that he was still alive. His barrier had been just powerful enough to deflect the blast and prevent a direct hit.

"Arg!" Miyako rubbed her eyes and blinked many times until she could see again. "You got lucky, but I won't miss this time!" She was about to pull the trigger again, but found her hand to be surprisingly empty. "… Huh?"

"Looking for this?"

Miyako looked to her side to see a certain barrier jacket clad blond haired enforcer looking extremely displeased. Fate gingerly held the Light of God in her hand.

Before Miyako could run to the jeep, gold rings appeared around her body. The driver tried to take off, but Fate blew away the tires of the jeep with a Photon Lancer. He didn't get far on foot before he was also wrapped in a bind.

"You're under arrest." Fate said coolly.

X-X-X

Soon after Yuuno found himself lying face down on an infirmary bed, the burns on his back had been treated and he was told that they were only superficial and would heal cleanly. His hair hadn't been so lucky, however, for his long ponytail had been completely incinerated, the charred ends scratching the back of his neck.

"Isn't that great news?" Fate tried to sound comforting. "You won't have any lasting scars."

"Yeah." He muttered.

"… Y-You should be healed up in no time!" Fate tried again.

"Yeah." He muttered.

"Well, we've managed to find out the location of Hummer's base!" She said. "We're assembling a strike force now! We don't have to worry about the mole anymore either. Apparently he was just a loose end that she tied up…"

"… Did she talk?" He wondered.

"… No, she wouldn't say a thing." Fate sighed. "We've had to restrain her so she wouldn't attempt to kill herself."

"How did you find out the base's location, then?" Yuuno asked.

"The driver spilled everything. The coordinates were loaded into the jeep's GPS too."

"I see."

"I… I'm sorry, Yuuno, this is all my fault." She lowered her head.

"No it isn't, Fate." Yuuno sighed.

"But I'm the one who gave her permission to wander the base, and I helped her get closer to you… It's my fault I fell for her lies…" Fate wiped at her eyes. "It's my fault you're here."

"No, it's not." Yuuno would have sat up if he had the energy, but instead he reached out and took Fate's hand. "In the end I'm the one who let myself get deceived. You were just thinking of me and trying to help so stop beating yourself up over it."

"But…"

"Just… It's okay, Fate." Yuuno's voice wavered a bit. "I'm just mad at myself for being so stupid. I should have known that no girl would show interest in me unless she was lying so she could use me…"

"… Yuuno…" Unable to think of comforting worlds, she just squeezed his hand instead. She wanted so desperately to cheer him up and make him feel better about himself, but she just didn't know how she could do it.

"Excuse me!" A cheerful voice said as the door opened. Shari walked in, only to frown at the atmosphere. "Hey now, the patient can't recover with such a gloomy mood in the room!"

"Shari?" Fate gawked, baffled by her aide's demeanour under the circumstances.

"You're not helping Fate-san, so please shoo for a bit." Shari pulled her superior up and pushed her out of the room. Stunned, Fate just stared at the door as it closed in her face.

"Now then professor." Shari pulled up a chair. "The doctor said it'd be fine for you to sit up, so come here." She pointed at the hair.

"Shari, what are you…?" Since he didn't move, Shari gently pulled him up herself. Seeing there was no point objecting, Yuuno sat in the chair, still unaware of the girl's intentions.

She stood behind him and he felt her hands move through his hair. What felt like a comb followed and he heard the metallic clink of scissors. And thus Shari went to work chopping off the ruined parts of his hair swiftly with skilful hands.

"You're good at this." Yuuno noted after sitting in silence awhile.

"I've had lots of practise." She said simply. "You shouldn't let it get to you, professor."

He said nothing.

"Don't let one bad experience ruin things for you." She went on.

"… Seems I've had nothing but bad experiences…" He muttered.

Shari sighed. "Well then, shall I teach you how to get a girl to genuinely fall in love with you?"

"I don't think that's possible."

"Just hear me out." She smiled softly. "The first step is to have confidence in yourself. Normally you have a lot of that when you're not having a bad day."

Yuuno grunted.

"Being a nice guy earns you major points too." Shari went on. "Next, don't make light of her passion. Then let her see the way your eyes sparkle when you really get into something and let her see you work first hand so she'll have her socks knocked off by just how talented and knowledgeable you really are. Also, show her how much fun it is to just chat with you and match wits with you over a game."

Something clicked and Yuuno tried to turn his head around, but a firm hand stopped him as another lock was cut.

"Finally," she almost whispered. "Selflessly use your own body to protect her from certain death. With all those things I guarantee you'll capture her heart."

Shocked, confused, and a little hopeful, Yuuno spoke. "… But don't you have Griffith?"

"Griffith?" Shari laughed. "I think you're misunderstanding. Like I told you, we've known each other since we were kids. I think I traumatized him, though, so I wasn't surprised he ended up marrying a nice, reserved girl like Lucino."

"Oh." Yuuno suddenly felt extremely dumb. "So… uh… did you mean what you were just saying?"

"Yup." She smiled. "And I hope you don't think that I'm the kind of girl who would lie just so she could use you."

Yuuno reflected on that and saw no reason to doubt her. As long as he had known her, she had always been so straightforward and honest about everything, even if it was something that might get her labelled as a weirdo. Her bright smile was far too pure to be hiding something.

"I don't…" He said.

"Good." She put her scissors down and handed him a mirror. "So then, what do you think?"

He looked into the reflection, but didn't focus on his hair. He could see the girl with the gentle smile behind him and in her normally playful eyes he noted the seriousness in them along with a hint of anxiety. It was clear her intent was genuine.

The thoughts he had during their chess game resurfaced. He had been drawn in by those qualities of hers, hadn't he? Believing she already had some one had blocked him from pursuing those thoughts further, but since he was mistaken…

"I like it." He uttered. "I'll gladly accept."

The face in the mirror brightened considerably after relief washed over it.

"I'm glad." She said. "When we get back to the city I know the perfect restaurant to show it off at!" Grinning from ear to ear, Shari gathered her supplies and went to the door before turning to face him. "There's still a little bit of work that needs to be done first, but be sure to look forward to it, Yuuno!"

Fate just stared as her aide opened the door and pranced down the hallway while humming some tune. She looked to her old friend for answers, but he only smiled at her.

"… What just happened?" Fate asked.

"Looks like I have a date." Yuuno replied.

X-X-X

Checking her inbox, Fate's smile grew larger as she saw a certain name on the list.

"Hey Nanoha!" She called. "We got a picture greeting from Yuuno!"

"Eh?" Nanoha cried as she hurried into the room. "Really? Let me see! Yuuno-kun's only ever sent us text letters during the holidays!"

Chuckling, Fate opened the message, filling the screen with the image of a couple. She had her arms wrapped snugly around his neck while his hands circled her and rested on her hip.

"It's already been a year." Fate mused contently.

"Still keeping his hair short, I see." Nanoha noted.

"Yeah, she likes cutting it for him." Fate nodded. "They truly are quite the pair. Working together, they've really helped the technical division advance by leaps and bounds.

"I'm glad for him." Nanoha smiled. "I've never seen Yuuno-kun so cheerful before.

"You're right." Fate said, putting an arm around her wife's shoulder and drawing her in closer. 'Way to go, Yuuno.' She thought. 'You've finally found your happiness.'

* * *

So back in December when I decided to continue this fic, I thought to myself "Okay, so I paired pretty much everyone off, so who could I put Yuuno with?" I instaneously thought of Shari and thus this pairing was born! To raise that flag, I had to get him on a mission with Fate so he could work with Shari. At the same time, I wanted to surprise people, so I had the implication be that Shari was with Griffith, and then introduced Miyako to suggest a CC/OC outcome. I made her eyes red to reflect her status as a red herring. Well, people saw right through it anyways, of course ^^"

Also wanted to avoid a befri-ending to show that it doesn't work on everyone!

Had two more Kamen Rider references in this part: the "full charge" being what the belts in Kamen Rider Den-O say when doing their finishing attacks, and the "that life, return it to God!" part. Nago, aka Kamen Rider IXA, will say that when facing a foe.

That's really all I gotta say! Thanks to everyone who has supported this fic! I hope you enjoyed it!


	12. True End v2

Just when you thought it was over!

AluciusDawn: I do think that Yuuno could get Nanoha, Fate, or any other girl if he really tried, but the original piece that kicked off this fic had Yuuno as the fandom saw him. I wrote it to comment on how even though people have a habit of 'pairing the spares', I rarely see Yuuno put with anyone. The canon doesn't help either, as Yuuno only ever had ship teases with Nanoha, and rather than pairing him with some one else like they did with Chrono, he was just pushed off into the background. This portrayal struck home with several people, so I set off to pair him off and let him have a happy ending.

FluxBlade and NGMT-R: To be honest the idea of him just binding her didn't cross my mind. This is likely because I had the idea for the finale firmly planted in my head, so I never considered other ways for it to play out. Your point is valid, though, which is why I went back and revised this ending to have Yuuno be more proactive in resolving the situation, among other things. I hope this will be more to your liking!

* * *

Yuuno resolved himself. He knew there was only one option for him.

"You're right, Miyako." He said, slowly walking closer. "No one on that side ever cared about me, so why the hell should I care about them? If you're willing to accept me, I'll gladly serve Hummer."

"You're a smart man, Yuuno." Miyako grinned, lowering the gun. "You're honest with yourself too. I really like that."

"What about her?" Yuuno asked, meeting Shari's gaze. "I doubt she'll just _close her eyes_ to everything."

"Oh I'm sure Master can make her see things differently." Miyako chuckled. "Everyone has a breaking point."

"That's true." Yuuno nodded as he stood directly before the two girls. "You've gone past mine."

Before she could react, Yuuno brought up a hand and opened his fist, an orb of light appearing in his palm. Normally used to light dark areas, this time the spell had a blinding effect, causing Miyako to reflexively withdraw her hand from Shari's neck to shield her vision. Yuuno used that opening to pull away the brunette, who had closed her eyes as instructed.

The orb in his hand quickly disappeared, and when it did Yuuno's now free hand shot out and snatched the gun from Miyako's grasp before she recovered. The raven haired woman cursed as she blindly groped for the weapon, only to find herself wrapped up in binds.

"…Wow." Shari gawked when she regained her wits. "That was slick."

"Damn it!" Miyako growled, blinking rapidly until her vision returned. "You won't get away with this!"

"It's over." Yuuno frowned. "Just give up."

"Bureau dog!"

"… Why did it have to be this way?" He muttered sadly.

His lament was interrupted when he heard something clatter against the ground nearby. He looked to see a round object come to rest some what close to them.

His body reacted on its own even before his mind recognised it as a grenade.

He jumped so that he was between Shari and the weapon and then dove at her as it exploded. The two of them fell down an incline, the eruption licking at Yuuno's back. A sharp, searing pain registered as the scent of burnt flesh and hair assailed his nostrils.

Ignoring his own condition, Yuuno looked at the girl below him. He was pleased to see she was unharmed, if a bit shaken up. She just looked up at him in shock, and he managed a pained smile.

Amidst the ringing in his ears, Yuuno could hear the vehicle approaching them. He assumed the driver had thrown the grenade and was now attempting to recover the Light of God. Biting back the pain, he looked behind him and saw the jeep moving right for them.

Gathering as much magic as he could, the librarian erected a barrier that the vehicle promptly smashed into. The collision activated the air bag, which exploded out with enough force to knock out the driver. Aside from the crackling flames, everything was silent.

"Yuuno! Shari!" Yuuno eventually heard Fate call. He vaguely registered her moving towards them before he blacked out.

X-X-X

Soon after Yuuno found himself lying face down on an infirmary bed, the burns on his back had been treated and he was told that they were only superficial and would heal cleanly. His hair hadn't been so lucky, however, for his long ponytail had been thoroughly roasted, the charred ends scratching the back of his neck.

"Isn't that great news?" Fate tried to sound comforting. "You won't have any lasting scars."

"Yeah." He muttered.

"… Y-You should be healed up in no time!" Fate tried again.

"Yeah." He muttered.

"Well, we've managed to find out the location of Hummer's base!" She said. "We're assembling a strike force now! We don't have to worry about the mole anymore either. Apparently he was just a loose end that she tied up…"

"… What happened to her?" He asked.

"… She was killed in the blast." Fate sighed.

"… I caused that…" Yuuno muttered. "She could have run if I hadn't bound her…"

"No, don't blame yourself for that." Fate asserted. "She was going to be disposed of regardless of the outcome. The driver spilled everything, that's how we knew where the base was. The coordinates for it were loaded into the jeep's GPS too."

"I see."

"I… I'm sorry, Yuuno, this is all my fault." She lowered her head.

"No it isn't, Fate." Yuuno sighed.

"But I'm the one who gave her permission to wander the base, and I helped her get closer to you… It's my fault I fell for her lies…" Fate wiped at her eyes. "It's my fault you're here."

"No, it's not." Yuuno would have sat up if he had the energy, but instead he reached out and took Fate's hand. "In the end I'm the one who let myself get deceived. You were just thinking of me and trying to help so stop beating yourself up over it."

"But…"

"Just… It's okay, Fate." Yuuno's voice wavered a bit. "I'm just mad at myself for being so stupid. I should have known that no girl would show interest in me unless she was lying so she could use me…"

"… Yuuno…" Unable to think of comforting worlds, she just squeezed his hand instead. She wanted so desperately to cheer him up and make him feel better about himself, but she just didn't know how she could do it.

"Excuse me!" A cheerful voice said as the door opened. Shari walked in, only to frown at the atmosphere. "Hey now, the patient can't recover with such a gloomy mood in the room!"

"Shari?" Fate gawked, baffled by her aide's demeanour under the circumstances.

"You're not helping Fate-san, so please shoo for a bit." Shari pulled her superior up and pushed her out of the room. Stunned, Fate just stared at the door as it closed in her face.

"Now then professor." Shari pulled up a chair. "The doctor said it'd be fine for you to sit up, so come here." She pointed at the chair.

"Shari, what are you…?" Since he didn't move, Shari gently pulled him up herself. Seeing there was no point objecting, Yuuno sat in the chair, still unaware of the girl's intentions.

She stood behind him and he felt her hands move through his hair. What felt like a comb followed and he heard the metallic clink of scissors. And thus Shari went to work chopping off the ruined parts of his hair swiftly with skilful hands.

"You're good at this." Yuuno noted after sitting in silence awhile.

"I've had lots of practise." She said simply. "You shouldn't let it get to you, professor."

He said nothing.

"Don't let one bad experience ruin things for you." She went on.

"… Seems I've had nothing but bad experiences…" He muttered.

Shari sighed. "Well then, shall I teach you how to get a girl to genuinely fall in love with you?"

"I don't think that's possible."

"Just hear me out." She smiled softly. "The first step is to have confidence in yourself. Normally you have a lot of that when you're not having a bad day."

Yuuno grunted.

"Being a nice guy earns you major points too." Shari went on. "Next, don't make light of her passion. Then let her see the way your eyes sparkle when you really get into something and let her see you work first hand so she'll have her socks knocked off by just how talented and knowledgeable you really are. Also, show her how much fun it is to just chat with you and match wits with you over a game."

Something clicked and Yuuno tried to turn his head around, but a firm hand stopped him as another lock was cut.

"Finally," she almost whispered. "And this is optional, by the way, just icing on the cake… selflessly use your own body to protect her from certain death. With all those things I guarantee you'll capture her heart."

Shocked, confused, and a little hopeful, Yuuno spoke. "… But don't you have Griffith?"

"Griffith?" Shari laughed. "I think you're misunderstanding. Like I told you, we've known each other since we were kids. I think I traumatized him, though, so I wasn't surprised he ended up marrying a nice, reserved girl like Lucino."

"Oh." Yuuno suddenly felt extremely dumb. "So… uh… did you mean what you were just saying?"

"Yup." She smiled. "And I hope you don't think that I'm the kind of girl who would lie just so she could use you."

Yuuno reflected on that and saw no reason to doubt her. As long as he had known her, she had always been so straightforward and honest about everything, even if it was something that might get her labelled as a weirdo. Her bright smile was far too pure to be hiding something.

"I don't…" He said.

"Good." She put her scissors down and handed him a mirror. "So then, what do you think?"

He looked into the reflection, but didn't focus on his hair. He could see the girl with the gentle smile behind him and in her normally playful eyes he noted the seriousness in them along with a hint of anxiety. It was clear her intent was genuine.

The thoughts he had during their chess game resurfaced. He had been drawn in by those qualities of hers, hadn't he? Believing she already had some one had blocked him from pursuing those thoughts further, but since she was giving him the green light, he was going to step on the gas.

"I like it." He smiled. "To show my gratitude, once we return from this assignment would you allow me the honour of treating you to dinner?"

The face in the mirror brightened considerably after relief washed over it.

"I'd love to." She said. "It's a date!" Grinning from ear to ear, Shari gathered her supplies and went to the door before turning to face him. "There's still a little bit of work that needs to be done first, but I'll be looking forward to it, Yuuno!"

Fate just stared as her aide opened the door and pranced down the hallway while humming some tune. She looked to her old friend for answers, but he only smiled at her.

"… What just happened?" Fate asked.

"I have a date." Yuuno replied.

X-X-X

Checking her inbox, Fate's smile grew larger as she saw a certain name on the list.

"Hey Nanoha!" She called. "We got a picture greeting from Yuuno!"

"Eh?" Nanoha cried as she hurried into the room. "Really? Let me see! Yuuno-kun's only ever sent us text letters during the holidays!"

Chuckling, Fate opened the message, filling the screen with the image of a couple. She had her arms wrapped snugly around his neck while his hands circled her and rested on her hip.

"It's already been a year." Fate mused contently.

"Still keeping his hair short, I see." Nanoha noted.

"Yeah, she likes cutting it for him." Fate nodded. "They truly are quite the pair. Working together, they've really helped the technical division advance by leaps and bounds.

"I'm glad for him." Nanoha smiled. "I've never seen Yuuno-kun so cheerful before."

"You're right." Fate said, putting an arm around her wife's shoulder and drawing her in closer. 'Way to go, Yuuno.' She thought. 'You've finally found your happiness.'


End file.
